1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for efficiently using recyclable/reusable parts in an image-forming apparatus in accordance with the characteristics of parts included in the image-forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-31988 discloses “a consumable-item-providing system for delivering a consumable item or a recycled consumable item that is recycled for about the same number of times as the consumable item”.
However, known systems similar to that disclosed in the above-described publication are applied for recycling only process cartridges, and are not capable of collectively managing multiple recyclable parts included in image-forming apparatuses. More specifically, although a typical image-forming apparatus includes various units having individual specific characteristics, no system for efficiently using recyclable/reusable items in accordance with the characteristics of the units has been suggested.
In addition, although the image-forming apparatus is used for various uses, no system for efficiently managing the recyclable/reusable items while satisfying requirements based on the use of the image-forming apparatus has been suggested.